I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to interview Alexander Zoltai, author of Notes from An Alien, about the message his book delivers along with great advice for aspiring writers.
Short synopsis:
Start with a 500-year Inter-World War. Continue through ecological disaster and the decimation of populations. Follow the institution of a Worlds’ government that helps bring a glimmer of hope. Discover the challenges and failures of unifying three very different Worlds. Explore what it takes to give birth to a lasting peace. This is what reading Notes from An Alien promises. And, this story could help Earth…
Interview:
It was the society in which we live—I tried four times over eleven years to get the theme into the right plot framework…
The fictional form let me draw parallels with our current culture while showing a progression beyond the immediate suffering plaguing our World.
I hope my readers will understand the parallels to our current culture and learn from what the Angians went through to find a lasting Peace—in sum, to believe that Peace is “inevitable”, even if we must go through more suffering to arrive…
“Believe in”? I know there have always been “secret societies” but the power over and manipulation of the culture—the main obstacle to Peace—is no secret—corrupt multinational corporations and greedy international financiers…
The “idea” for the novel (what I would call the Theme) was with me for just a bit over eleven years. So, the “first step” was actually five steps, until I’d found the right Plot-Form for the book.
A Synopsis of the book’s Journey would be:
* Outline > Create the Worlds in a Space Simulator > Name characters and Locations
* Begin writing > Change Outline > Continue writing > Change Outline > Etc
* Share the “Decent Draft” with friends
* Revise Manuscript > Submit to Editor
* Revise again
* Put manuscript into the FastPencil Site (my publisher) > Work on Front & Back Material > Publish
If I understand your question, I would never have my book read if I waited for society to find me—I use my blog (Reading, Writing, & Publishing Topics) to attract folks to me and my book is available in the side-bar. I’m also the Events Manager on Book Island in the virtual world Second Life (all kinds of literary events) and this virtual experience is valuable to meet and interact with potential readers!
